If you happen to have an extra $32,000 lying around, it appears that you can build a custom, RFID-enabled Scrabble board. Yes, that’s an RFID tag on every tile and an RFID antenna on every square… along with some cool lighting. That’s what Mind Sports International (MSI) did as part of an upcoming event in Prague. The idea was that users will be able to watch online as tournament games are played, and they will see every tile that is placed down in real-time.

The technology allows scores to be calculated instantaneously. The transmission from the RFID-embedded tiles to the internet takes about 974 milliseconds. And as if that wasn’t enough RFID madness for you, each player’s tile tray also contains RFID sensors, so anyone following along at home can keep track of the letters that each player has.

There are 100 letter tiles with RFID tags, 225 RFID antennas (one for space on the 15×15 game board), nine circuit boards embedded under the game board, and seven sensors on every tile tray.

The total cost of the custom board, certified as an official Scrabble game, was £20,000 ($31,800).

This is all part of MSI’s Mind Sports Festival, where top Scrabble players from around the world will compete. The high-tech tweaks will make it the most spectator-friendly Scrabble competition ever. Live HD video streams will also be available online.

If this is the Scrabble of the future, I may have to give up the game entirely. What fun is it if you can’t play turned-around tiles as blank letters and “accidentally” count your X as being on a triple letter?